Hon'ble SINHA, J.— Determination of a question of adverse possession whether would come within the purview of the jurisdiction of Special Tribunal and/or Special Court constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act, 1982 (hereinafter called and referred to for the sake of brevity as ‘the Act’) has been referred to this Bench, noticing purported conflict in the decisions of two Division Benches of this Court in Konda Lakshmana Bapuji vs. Government of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. ((2002) 3 SCC 258) and N. Srinivasa Rao vs. Special Court under the A.P. Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Act & Ors. ((2006) 4 SCC 214).

2. Before, however, adverting to the said question, we may notice some salient features of the said Act.

3. The Government of Andhra Pradesh noticed organized attempts on the part of certain lawless persons operating individually and in groups, to grab either by force or by deceit or otherwise, lands (whether belonging to the Government, a local authority, a religious or charitable institution or endowment, including a wakf, or any other private persons) as also the fact that the land grabbers are forming bogus co-operative housing societies or setting up fictitious claims and indulging in large scale and unprecedented and fraudulent sales of lands through unscrupulous real estate dealers or otherwise in favour of certain sections of the people resulting in large accumulation of unaccounted wealth and as thereby public order was also adversely affected now and then by such unlawful activities of land grabbers in the State in respect of urban and urbanisable land. The said Act was enacted with a view to prohibiting the activities of land grabbing in the State of Andhra Pradesh and to provide for matters connected therewith.

4. The Act is a special Act. It is a self contained code.

5. ‘Land grabber’ is defined in section 2(d) of the Act to mean a person or a group of persons who commits land grabbing and includes any person who gives financial aid to any person for taking illegal possession of lands or for construction of unauthorized structures thereon, or who collects or attempts to collect from any occupiers of such lands, rent, compensation and other charges by criminal intimidation; or who abets the doing of any of the above mentioned acts; and also includes the successors in interest.

6. ‘Land grabbing’ has been defined in Section 2(e) to mean :

“every activity of grabbing of any land (whether belonging to the Government, a local authority, a religious or charitable institution or endowment, including a wakf, or any other private person) by a person or group of persons, without any lawful entitlement and with a view to illegally taking possession of such lands or enter into or create illegal tenancies or lease and licence agreements or any other illegal agreements in respect of such lands, or to construct unauthorized structures thereon for sale or hire, or give such land to any person on rental or lease and licence basis for construction, or use and occupation of unauthorized structures; and the term ‘to grab land’ shall be construed accordingly.”

7. Section 3 declares ‘land grabbing’ in any form to be unlawful and any activity connected therewith to be an offence punishable under the Act. Section 4 imposes prohibition on land grabbing, violation whereof results in penal action (s) as specified therein. Section 7 provides for constitution of Special Courts. The Chairman of the Special Court is a sitting or retired Judge of the High Court and out of other four members thereof two ought to be sitting or retired District Judges (Judicial members) and the other two who hold or have held a post not below the rank of a District Collector. The process for appointment of the Chairman and Members of the Judicial Members of the Special Court has been laid down therein.

8. The Special Court has been empowered to make regulations relating to the procedure to be followed for the conduct of cases as also the manner o